In October, one of our own, Kenton Koch, was named the winner of the 2015 FIA Young Driver Excellence Academy in the Americas division and earned a trip to the worldwide academy. As the 2014 Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup champ as a 19-year-old, SCCA fans knew he could drive. He’s shown it again this year as the early-season point leader in the IMSA Prototype Lites category.
And now, with the FIA Academy honors, the world is getting to know Koch.
His 2015 race commitments have cost him some time, but last weekend Koch flew to Germany for his first workshop at Sachsenring.
How’d it go? As intense as you’d might expect.
“One thing that really caught my attention is that the level of knowledge and quality of people I am surrounded with, which is quite overwhelming when you think about it,” he said in his recap. “But when in the moment it’s hard to actually comprehend the amount of talent. This goes for everyone involved, drivers, coaches, and those who run the workshop.”
It wasn’t all about driving. There were also perception and personality workshops that provide the tools future racing successes.
“For example, I am someone who mostly introverted but am not afraid to venture outside my comfort zone in a comfortable and well-perceived manner,” Koch wrote. “This means I don’t take some things as serious as others and to someone who is quite competitive and takes things seriously, I may come across as arrogant to that specific personality. In reality I am actually being honest and true, but the way I am perceived is what matters.”